Fla. Supreme Court strikes down loud stereo law

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - A state law making it illegal to blast loud music from a car stereo has been declared unconstitutional.

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in a pair of Pinellas County cases. Both motorists were cited for playing their car radios too loudly. The justices called the law unconstitutional and said it violates free speech rights for several reasons including that it exempts vehicles used for business or political purposes.

The high court did not have a problem with a requirement in the law that a stereo must be "plainly audible" from 25 feet or more in order to be illegal.

A lower court had questioned the constitutionality of that standard. Instead justices ruled that people do have a right to play amplified music and that the law is intrusive.

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